10 Underrated New Wave Acts of the 1980s

{{ selected.heading }}

{{ selected.subheading }}

{{ selected.author }}

New wave, as a genre, is hard to define. It means different things to different people. It’s used to refer to the artists coming out of England’s pub rock scene, like Elvis Costello and Ian Dury, as well as New Romantics like Duran Duran and Culture Club, and the more eclectic synth bands coming out of the US like Devo. I like to think it can be all of these things.

New Wave is more complex than punk while keeping the same attitude. It’s less heavy than rock and accessible to the great unwashed. Some of the finest albums of the 1980s came out of the movement. Blondie’s ‘Parallel Lines’, Talking Heads’ ‘Fear of Music’ and The Go-Go’s ‘Beauty and The Beat’ to name a few. But what of the rest - the also rans, the bands that were overlooked, or not looked at at all? Let me introduce you to 10 bands that should be remembered in the same breath. Bands that for whatever reason, never quite got the traction they needed.